


Mythology

by amoeve



Series: Zutara Month 2015 [13]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: F/M, Fairy Tale Elements, Fairy Tale Style, Future Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-24
Updated: 2015-12-24
Packaged: 2018-05-08 20:00:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 747
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5511083
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amoeve/pseuds/amoeve
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Katara and Zuko’s story has become a bedtime fairy tale for their descendants.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Mythology

“Tell us the story,” the children beg, “of how the sun loved the moon so much that he hid himself away to watch her shine.”

Their mother, the Fire Lady, leans over the bed. “Once upon a time,” she begins, “the sun shone brightly in the sky.”

“He was a prince,” chips in the eldest – the daughter and heir.

“Yes, and he shone in the sky, watching over the world below. One day, he saw a pretty, pale girl, sitting by the sea, looking sad.”

“The princess!” pipes the youngest.

“She was so lovely, and so lonely, that he called out to her: ‘How can someone so beautiful be melancholy on a day like this?’”

“What does melon collie mean?” the youngest whispers.

“Sad,” says the middle child.

“Very, very, very, _very_ sad,” says the oldest.

Their mother takes their hands. “Yes, she was sad. ‘Sir, you blaze so,’ the moon said to the sun. ‘You overmatch all of my greatest efforts, and your brightness means I cannot see my sisters. I sit here sadly for I do not know what else I can do but try to shine, even though my sisters do not see me.’ And the sun realised his glory was conquering the whole sky, and he had left no space for anyone else to shine with him.”

“Like when Ikumi steals the duvet,” comments the middle child, who is the only boy, and often feels the need to be more factual than his sisters.

“And the sun realised he was being unkind,” their mother continues, louder, because she knows her children and they _will_ start a bending battle in bed, if they can. And with one waterbender and two firebenders in the brood, this is no idle play. “And he realised that, through his actions, he could hurt someone else. But more than that, he realised that he wanted to see the silver girl shine. So he slipped towards the edge of the sea, and when he looked up, she was radiant with glimmering light.

“The sea around her skirts was rippled with silver, and her face was upturned in happiness. She rose up into the sky and all the stars, her sisters, came out to see her, and she glowed with happiness.”

“That’s a _nice_ story,” said the littlest, snuggling down.

Their father has been leaning quietly in the doorway, watching his family at peace. He speaks up: “It isn’t over. Because the sun, you see, fell in love with the moon when he saw her shine. And the moon loved the sun for trying so hard to make her happy.”

“Sometimes the moon visits her sisters, and turns away. But she always comes back to the sun,” their father finishes, “and shines full in the sky.”

“And sometimes you see them in the sky together,” says Ikumi, the eldest. “That must be nice for them.”

“It is,” their father says, as they go through the nightly ritual of tucking in, of parents dropping kisses onto tousled, sleepy heads.

“Is it a true story, Mummy?” The asker is Ikumi, who, it must be noted, has a rather large portion of the duvet to herself – but then, she is the biggest.

“Yes, my darling,” she says, gently repatriating some of the quilts to cover Ikumi’s brother and sister. “It’s about something that happened a long time ago.”

“When?” Ikumi yawns, because it is never time for sleep when there is a question to be asked.

“When a prince learned that trying too hard was a very lonely life, and he changed his ways for love, and married the first waterbender ever to become Fire Lady.”

“I’m a waterbender,” chimes the littlest, sleepily, and then there is silence in the nursery.

“Grandpa Iroh used to tell me that story, about _his_ grandfather,” the Fire Lord says to his wife.

She winks at him, slipping her arm through his. “My father is Fire Lady Katara’s great-great-nephew… and in the Water Tribe, our children learn that the moon _battled_  the sun for her place in the sky, despite their love. And that she beat him.”

Her husband laughs. “I bet she did.”

She kisses his cheek. “I suspect you’re humouring me.”

He squeezes her hand. “I’m just glad you told the version _without_ the fighting, or they’d be on their third nursery of the year.”

She smiles as she steps over the threshold of their chambers. “Either way, I think Fire Lord Zuko would be proud.”


End file.
